Modern vehicles, such as aircraft, often include various displays for simultaneously displaying several types of information to a user (e.g., the pilot). Primary flight displays (PFD) and head-up displays (HUDs) often project various symbols and information over an image of the environment outside the aircraft. More specifically, primary flight displays typically make use of an artificial image of the environment (e.g., a digital terrain) while HUDs include a transparent display, or image combiner, through which the pilot may view the exterior. In modern implementations of both, various “symbology” is rendered over the image of the exterior of the aircraft to indicate various operational conditions to the user.
One of the symbols often indicates the vertical position of the aircraft relative to a desired flight path, or flight plan, and is sometimes referred to as a Vertical Deviation Indicator (VDev). Typically, the VDev is displayed on the display screen in a fixed position. This often results in the user needing to divert his or her view from another important symbol on the display, such as a Flight Path Reference (FPRef) line, in order to ascertain the aircraft's position relative to the desired flight path. However, in some implementations, the VDev moves across the display screen, both vertically and horizontally, in a fixed position relative to one of the other symbols, such as the FPRef. As a result, the VDev is sometimes obscured from view by other symbology, or vice versa.
Accordingly, it is desirable to provide a method and system for operating a display device on-board an aircraft in such a way as to facilitate the user's use of a vertical position indicator on the display, such as a VDev. Furthermore, other desirable features and characteristics of the present invention will become apparent from the subsequent detailed description of the invention and the appended claims, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and this background of the invention.